So my copy of Gears of War 2 for the Xbox 360 (as opposed to what other system, right?) arrived this afternoon. Finally! It couldn’t have come at a better time – it’s been a rough and stressful week, and it’s only Wednesday. Anyway, as soon as I got home, I started playing through the single-player campaign mode on the second to hardest skill level and got stuck pretty quickly – damn incoming mortars.

Ultimately though, the real fun came tonight playing with guys from work in the Horde mode. The level we were on, I found good spots to perch and take on the waves and waves of exponentially harder villians. I’ll be diving more into the game as the days and weeks progress. For any fan of the first game, this is more of the same, but that’s not a good thing. They’ve expanded on the theme ever so slightly and the scope of levels, enemies, etc. is bigger and harder. If the first was a lot of fun for you, so too will this one. But if the first wasn’t your cup of tea (I’m sure there are a few of you out there… somewhere), this one won’t be either.

So I snagged “Grand Theft Auto IV” for the Xbox 360 last week and finally got to put some real time in with it last night and I’m really enjoying it. Thus far, I’m not finding anything crazy different from the prior games, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The previous games were hours upon hours of fun and this one will be too.

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So last Monday when I was working from home, I also took the time to call around to see if any of the local Game Stops had any of the Rock Band Special Editions in for the Xbox 360 (Special Edition is just the game, the drum kit, guitar and mic). None did initially, but I’m glad I called around, as a couple just said no, while others informed me that they expected some via UPS later that day.

Late that afternoon, I snagged one from the closest Game Stop and since I had sold my PS2 hardware and all the games back, I had a massive store credit. Brought it home and did a little drum and guitar playing solo. Lots of fun!

But the real fun came yesterday when Bret, Tina and JC came and we had a full band. It really rocks with a group of people, and there’s a good variety of tasks in the career mode. We really were rocking out on a lot of tracks and had the most success and fun when Bret was on drums, Tina on bass, JC on vocals and me on guitar.

The only downer came toward the end of our extended session. Reports have been widespread about faulty hardware (EA Acknowledges Rock Band Guitar Defect, Promises Replacements, Rock Band Users Discovering Hardware Issues).

I was hoping since I didn’t get a box from the initial release batches, I’d be fine. But by the end of Sunday’s extended jam session, only upstrums were working on the Fender Rock Band Guitar. My guitar strum bar is slightly limp, hanging down from its usual centered home position. Luckily, EA is doing a two day turnaround on the faulty equipment, so a new guitar should be here Wednesday or Thursday this week – plenty of time before the next D’ Bagz jam session commences this weekend.

Local play was great, but is greatly enhanced by having a few friends in the room with you. I have yet to play online. I tried late Saturday night to, but gave up on trying to hook up with people to play with. I kept getting kicked out of the initial join “lobby.” I’m thinking I didn’t have enough experience. Maybe I’ll make it through on a couple of instruments solo and with the D’ Bagz before any further foray.

Despite the hardware issues, I highly recommend this game, especially if you have a few buddies that will be into it with you. The price tag is steep, but oh so much fun. I feel that I’ve already got my money’s worth, but there’s still a lot of fun, achievements, content and songs yet to unlock and/or tackle.